Al Pacino hailed as 'great' in Christopher Nolan tribute as director shares candid story
With the highly anticipated release of Christopher Nolan's Oppenheimer looming, the director shared a major similarity between stars Cillian Murphy and Al Pacino.
Oppenheimer: Official trailer (2023)
Legandary director Christopher Nolan has praised Hollywood star, Al Pacino as he recalled watching Oppenheimer for the first time after post-production.
The filmmaker revealed he initially didn’t grasp the magnitude of Cillian Murphy’s stellar performance as the nuclear bomb scientist J. Robert Oppenheimer.
As he told the Los Angeles Times: “The performance became all-enveloping when I realized Cillian had so much more going on than [what] I saw on set.”
The realization reminded Nolan of a key moment he shared with Pacino on the set of their 2002 physiological thriller Insomnia.
The film is based on the 1997 Norwegian original but stars Pacino as a detective forced into a mind-bending game of cat and mouse with the main suspect (played by Robin Williams).
Its blockbuster release was a major success for Nolan as it marked his first film for Warner Bros, following his year 2000 breakout, Momento.
Unlike his 11 other films, Insomnia remains the only Nolan-directed flick he didn't write or co-write.
Speaking to the publication, the filmmaker recalled the moment Pacino refused to accept a set note from him.
Nolan shared: “I had gone up to Pacino after a series of takes and given him a note on what I wanted.
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“He told me, ‘I’ve already done that. You can’t see it to the eye, but I’ve done it on the dailies.’
“I looked for it and I was like, ‘Oh, my God,’ because there it was. Great film actors can do that, and that’s what I had with Cillian.”
In both cases, it was only after Nolan watched the complete picture in post-production did he notice the key details in their respective performances.
While Insomnia grossed more than $113 million worldwide against a production budget of $46 million, Oppenheimer is anticipated to make a similar impact on the movie industry.
Speaking on the upcoming film, Murphy stated: “I have always said publicly and privately to Chris, that if I’m available and you want me to be in a movie, I’m there. I don’t really care about the size of the part.”
However, he admitted to Associated Press: “But deep down, secretly, I was desperate to play a lead for him.
“We have this long-standing understanding and trust and shorthand and respect. It felt like the right time to take on a bigger responsibility. And it just so happened that it was a huge one.”
Oppenheimer will be released on theaters on July 21
